Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Top Events That Shaped America In The Last Decade

- Myspace was Introduced
1 Mar 2013

MySpace was overtaken by the social networking website Facebook

 

- The Failure to Address the end of the World
21 Dec 2012

In some point of 2011 or 2010, It was predicted that the end of the world was going to be on December 21st 2012. The prediction was wrong, considering the fact nothing happened on that day.



-Greenpeace activists with bodies covered in fake oil, take part in a protest outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels (REUTERS/Greenpeace/Eric de Mildt/Handout)
April 20 - An explosion occurred on the Transocean Ltd's drilling rig Deepwater Horizon licensed to BP killing 11 workers. Millions of gallons of oil was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico soiling 100 miles of coastline, threatening some of the richest U.S. fisheries and endangering a fragile marine ecosystem.
July 8 - Ten people uncovered by the FBI as Russian spies pleaded guilty in court to conspiracy to act as foreign agents. The spies were deported from the United States in exchange for four people imprisoned for alleged contact with Western intelligence bodies.
August 19 - Iraq War: The last U.S. combat troops left Iraq.
September 23 - The United States and other western nations including Britain, Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Uruguay and Spain walked out of the United Nations General Assembly following claims by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that the majority of the American people as well as most nations and politicians around the world believe that the 9/11 attacks were the work of the Government of the United States trying to protect Israel.
November 28 - Whistle-blower site WikiLeaks publicly released the first of thousands of confidential documents sent by U.S. diplomats.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the 65th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
December 2 - The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4853 that extends tax cuts for families making under $250,000, but raises taxes on those making over that amount with a 234-188 vote.
December 18 - U.S. Senate voted to repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law, in a move that would pave the way for gays to serve openly in the military. The 17-year-old law's tenure reached an end after the Senate voted 65-31 favoring its repeal. The 1993 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law barred gay people in the military from revealing their sexual orientation. Reports suggest that more than 13,000 men and women were expelled from the military due to the policy.
December 21 - The results of the 2010 US Census were released. The US population grew by 9.7 percent to 308 million, the smallest percentage increase since the Great Depression.



-A storm in the Tea Cup (Tea Party and the midterm polls)
On February 5, The Tea Party movement that gained momentum in the final months of 2005 over the debate on national healthcare hosted their first convention in Nashville, Tennessee. In what is seen as the most influential video of the year in American politics, an 80-seconds long advert hit the screens all over the US. Several analysts later maintained that the video was key in determining the outcome of the 2010 midterm elections.
It featured Republican Sarah Palin speaking amid a wave fluttering flags and cheering supporters. In an attempt to inspire the cadres, she said, The Tea party movement is not a top-down operation. It's a ground-up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way that they're doing business. Reaching out to everyday Americans, the party stated that the soul of this movement were the people who grow the food and run the small businesses, teach the kids and fight the wars.
They're folks in small towns and cities across this great nation who saw what was happening, and they got involved. It is just so inspiring to see real people, not politicos, not inside the beltway professionals, come out and stand up and speak out for commonsense conservative principles, Palin said adding that the tea party was the future of politics. In fact, it was.
On November 2, following the midterm election, Republicans took control of the House with a gain of 64 seats making it the largest seat change for any party since the 1948 election and the largest for any midterm since the 1938 midterm elections. The Democrats however keep control of the Senate. Republicans also won a majority of Governships and State Legislatures.
March 21 - The United States House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 by votes of 219-212 and 220-211, respectively.


 -Earthquake in Haiti
12 Jan 2010

This earthquake's magnitude measured up to 7.0 on the ritcher scale.


-Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin gestures to the crowd after speaking at a Tea Party Express rally on Boston Commons in Boston, Massachusetts April 14, 2010. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
2010




Michael Jackson fans hold up his poster in Mexico City August 29, 2009. (REUTERS/Henry Romero)
Michael Jackson, one of the world's greatest entertainer died on June 25 just as he was attempting make a comeback. The 50-year-old musical superstar was preparing for a series of 50 concerts starting July 13 at London's famed 02 arena. Jackson was at practice for hours with teams of dancers ahead of the performances. The death meanwhile, triggered an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, as the abundance of people accessing the web addresses pushed internet traffic to potentially unprecedented levels.
January 9 - A Labor Department report showed that the US economy lost nearly 2 million jobs in the last four months of 2008.
January 15 - U.S. Airways Flight 1549 lost power in both engines shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia, forcing the pilot to ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued with no injuries, and the pilot is hailed as a hero.
January 16 - Circuit City, the number two electronics retailer in the U.S., announced the closing of all 567 of its U.S. stores and the termination of 34,000 jobs.
January 20 - Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States in front of a crowd of more than one million.
January 22 - President Obama signed executive orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within one year and to prohibit torture in terrorism interrogations.
February 18 - President Obama ordered the deployment of 17,000 additional US troops to Afghanistan.
May 11 - An army sergeant opened fire at a military stress counseling clinic at a US military base in Baghdad, killing five fellow soldiers and wounding one.
U.S Marines from Delta Company of 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion patrol near the town of Khan Neshin in Rig district of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan September 9, 2009. (REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic)
June 12 - Analog television broadcasts ended in the United States, as the Federal Communications Commission required all full power stations to send their signals digitally.
July 3 - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin unexpectedly announced her resignation, effective July 26, 2009, citing the costs and distractions of battling frivolous ethics investigations launched against her, and prompting several media outlets to speculate that she is preparing for a presidential run in 2012.
August 4 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardoned two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year, after former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with Kim in North Korea.
September 9 - President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on the importance of healthcare reform. Representative Joe Wilson shouted, You lie! as Obama says illegal immigrants would not be covered under his healthcare proposal. The heckling was a first in US politics and received widespread media attention for many days.
September 12 - The first 9/12 Project protest event was held in Washington, DC, with attendance being estimated from hundreds of thousands to as many as two million people. Numerous other Tea Party protests occurred nationwide as well.
October 9 - President Obama unexpectedly won the Nobel Peace Prize. He said that he was humbled to be chosen for the award.
2009






-Civil Rights won at last - Obama becomes the first black President of US
U.S. President Barack Obama at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington. (REUTERS/Jim Young)
An unusual face stole the limelight on the world stage. Tall, dark and handsome yet politically inept, the critics said. Despite initial antagonism, Illinois senator Barack Obama was declared the Democratic president candidate after narrowly beating Senator Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden was announced as vice president candidate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. Nominations of both Republicans were approved at the party's National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. But it was in November, the tide of change swooped across the United States. Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States and Joe Biden is elected the 47th Vice President. Barack Obama, thus, became the first African-American President-elect.
January 18 - President George W. Bush announced an economic stimulus package, proposing $800 per individual and $1600 per couple in tax refunds.
January 28 - President George W. Bush delivered his last State of the Union address.
March 4 - John McCain secured the 2008 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination after winning primary elections in Texas, Vermont, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
April 15 - Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States.
June 27 - After three decades as the Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates stepped down from daily duties to concentrate on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.


- The First African-American President
4 Nov 2008

Barack Obama was elected in 2008, and sworn in on January 20th 2009.

- GFC
20 Sep 2008

The crisis actually began in July 2007, but bye 2008 the crisis had worsened

-Another Columbine at Virginia
The Virginia Tech massacre in April claimed 32 lives. 23-year-old, Seung-Hui Chom went on a shooting spree on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, resulting in the deadliest peacetime shooting incident by a single gunman in United States history, on or off a school campus. Cho was previously diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder. But, due to federal privacy laws, Virginia Tech was not informed of Cho's previous diagnosis. In 2005, he was accused of stalking two female students and a Virginia special justice declared Cho mentally.
January 4 - Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
January 10 - President Bush announced a plan to station 21,500 additional troops in Iraq.
February 10 - Senator Barack Obama of Illinois declared his candidacy for President of the United States of America
December - The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) controversially expressed high confidence that Iran's nuclear weapons program has not operated since 2003.
2008


-And the cars broke down
In January, automobile manufacturer General Motors reported an $8.6 billion loss for 2005, its biggest loss since 1992. The company led global sales for 75 consecutive years from 1931, longer than any other automaker. The sales continued till 2007. In 2008 and 2009, following the slump, GM was ranked as the second largest global automaker. The company was later forced to file for bankruptcy protection and seek a bailout from the U.S. and Canadian governments after suffering a huge blow at the stock market. Several thousands of jobs were axed resulting in public outcry.
A worker cleans Hummer vehicles at a dealership in Chantilly, Virginia. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files)
March 16 - The Blu-ray Disc format was released in the United States
July 4 - STS-121: Space Shuttle Discovery was launched to the International Space Station. It returned safely on July 17. It was the second return to flight mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
December 22 - The Space Shuttle Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center, concluding a 2-week mission to the International Space Station.
2007


- Hurricane Katrina
23 Aug 2005

It was the deadlist and most destructive hurricane for 2005. It lasted until the 25th of August
Hurricane Katrina

Residents wait on a roof top to be rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans September 1, 2005.(REUTERS/David J. Phillip/Pool)
Several thousand were left homeless, hundreds were killed and widespread lootings were reported all over the effected states. Pictures if Hurricane Katrina portrayed an unusual image of the United States, as a country struggling to avert the consequences of a huge natural disaster. On August 23, the hurricane formed over the Bahamas. A week later at least 1,836 were killed, along the U.S. Gulf Coast, and rest of eastern North America.
-The bubble that went bust
In October, the United States' housing bubble began to burst, causing home prices to unexpectedly stop rising and begin to decline. The effects followed the next year, as in 2006 a total of 1,259,118 foreclosures were filed up 42 per cent from 2005. The relatively marked the beginning of the economic slump for the US.
January 20 - George W. Bush was sworn in for his second term as president.
February 10 - North Korea announced that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
February 15 - The Internet site YouTube went online.
February 16 - The Kyoto Protocol went into effect.
May 10 - A hand grenade landed about 100 feet from US President George Bush while delivering a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia. However, it malfunctioned and did not detonate.
December 23 - U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the first in an expected series of troop drawdown following the Iraqi elections.
2006


-When Youtube was Made
14 Feb 2005

Youtube is a site where you can upload videos.

This event included the Iraq war
February - Social networking site Facebook revolutionizing the world of internet.
February 26 - The United States lifted a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
March 2 - NASA announced that the Mars rover MER-B has confirmed that its landing area was once drenched in water.
April 28 - Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse was revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.
September 16 - Hurricane Ivan struck Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 storm, killing 25 in Alabama and Florida, becoming the third-costliest hurricane in American history at the time.
September 23 - Tropical Storm Ivan, came around and reformed in the Gulf of Mexico, makes its final landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, to little effect. In total, the storm killed 92 people.
2005



-When Facebook was Launched
4 Feb 2004

Facebook hit 1 billion users by 2012


-9/11
11 Sep 2001